Judges 7:22-8:35, The dangers of leadership

NOTE: I'm not completely satisfied with this study. I think the issue is leadership: criticism, diplomacy, ruthlessness, servanthood, power, and greed. I did not do a good job of integrating them into the study.

Judges 7:22-8:3 (NIV) When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah."

So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. 25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.

8 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, "Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?" And they criticized him sharply.

2 But he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? 3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" At this, their resentment against him subsided.

• This is a pretty amazing response of the Ephraimites to Gideon, after 7 years of oppression, why?
• Could be his low status in Mannesseh, or even that he was from a different tribe
• Jealousy is a possibility
• People like to complain even when good things happen
• Phil 2:14-15 (NIV) Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
• APPLICATION: Is my normal reaction to events to start by focusing on the negative? Or do I try to see the positive things or what God is doing in the event?
• Possibly they misunderstood the rumors of only having 300 men ("well, if the men of your tribe are scared, you should have called on us")
• How do most people respond in a situation like Gideon's? Secondly, what does Gideon do?
• Justify themselves (God told me what to do, in fact, we only had 300 men)
• Emphasize accomplishments and attack the other person
• (Minority) Defuse the situation
• Accept the response. ("Please forgive me. I called up Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, and forgot to call any other tribes.")
• Accentuate the positive contributions of the other person (the diplomatic response)
• On the negative side, Gideon uses psychology versus theology to answer his critics
• Gideon fails to mention God
• Build the other person up
• APPLICATION: Even when you are perfectly in the will of God, you can face criticism and rejection from other people (to include other believers)

Judg 8:4-21 (NIV) Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. 5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

6 But the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"

7 Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."

8 From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Succoth had. 9 So he said to the men of Peniel, "When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. 11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

13 Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. 14 He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town. 15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, 'Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'" 16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. 17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?"

"Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince."

19 Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you." 20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, do it yourself. 'As is the man, so is his strength.'" So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.

• Who are the men of Succoth and Peniel? They are Israelites who lived on the other side of the Jordan (part of the 2 1/2 tribes)
• Why do they not support Gideon?
• Regionalism had developed in Israel. The two and a half tribes saw themselves as separate (national disintegration is occuring). This is exactly what Moses warned would happen when they separated themselves from the main part of the nation
• They were not convinced Gideon and his 300 men would be successful
• Why does Gideon act as he did against his own people? Was he justified?
• They did refuse to help their own nation
• They aided and abetted the enemy
• Buy, Gideon's action are somewhat in contrast to God's attitude toward Israel
• Gideon is impatient and ruthless
• God is patient and full of grace
• What could have Gideon done?
• He could have left the judging of God's people to God
• Or, as judge of Israel, he was required to judge them
• ANSWER: I don't know what the best response. We have no editorial from God whether the actions were right or not. The story only tells us what happened, not how God would have commanded
• As Gideon faces the two kings, what is on his mind? The death of his brothers
• Why does Zebah and Zalmunna answer as they do?
• Might be a true statement
• They might have been hoping for mercy by using flattery
• Why does Gideon command his son to kill the kings?
• It is a disgrace to be killed by a woman or a youth
• Therefore, he is trying to disgrace them. Unlike the Ephraimites where he shows diplomacy, he does not show it to the two kings or the two cities
• Why the change and what is missing in this section?
• God is not mentioned
• It is as if that Gideon has allowed the victory to go to his head
• APPLICATION: Don't let victories bring you down. Maintain a humble attitude in all situations. Don't let power over people think that you can do as you please. Think of others. Act gracefully

Judges 8:22-35 (NIV) The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."

23 But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you." 24 And he said, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)

25 They answered, "We'll be glad to give them." So they spread out a garment, and each man threw a ring from his plunder onto it. 26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels' necks. 27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.

29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and 34 did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 35 They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them.

• This passage is really emblematic of the problems in Israel that Judges highlights. The first request is to make Gideon king, but Gideon refuses, why?
• Gideon believed that the current arrangement of Judges was sufficient
• This is the first time that we see the idea of a king come up. At this point, why and what are the advantages of a king?
• We see disintegration regionally
• There is no single integrating factor
• The spiritual leadership has failed to lead and teach God's word
• They do need God as king but they also need a leader who will seek God (it could be that the idea of a king is from God and not from the people, that is, the people have already rejected God as their ruler. God knows that they need an earthly king (possibly))
• So Gideon is probably correct to reject the kingship but what does he do? He creates a religious symbol, an ephod
• What is an ephod? It is used to talk to God, to get direction
• Who wears an ephod in Israel? The high priest
• So Gideon rejects kingship but he (almost) assumes priesthood, why is he so foolish?
• Possibly, his power has gone to his head
• Israel really needs teachers of the law. People have forgotten what is true
• Gideon both leads Israel out of oppression and idolatry and back into idolatry
• APPLICATION: Good leadership is critical. It can help people to flourish and grow. Bad leadership can cripple a nation. Where is the spiritual authority in your life? Are you involved in a church? Are you committed to spiritual fellowship?